HP Wants to Bring webOS to Printers

When HP discussed expanding webOS, this probably isn't what Palm had in mind.

During a conference call HP chief executive Mark Hurd told the Wall Street Journal that HP plans to extend Palm's webOS not only to smartphones and tablets but to other devices, including web-enabled printers.

"We expect to leverage webOS in a variety of form factors, including slate computers and Web-connected printers," Hurd said.

HP acquired Palm at the end of April for $1.2 billion, largely because of webOS, which many analysts consider Palm's crown jewel. The use of webOS in printers was unexpected by several industry insiders, but makes sense, considering HP's plans to grow their share of the printer market.

This decision highlights the scalability of Linux, which webOS is based on, as HP plans to use the operating system in one form or another from its simple commercial devices all the way up to its tablets.